John Pope
John Pope is a former felon and chef who became the leader of Pope's Gang after the invasion. He has killed several Skitters unaided and is known for his witty and insensitive popeisms. John became a prisoner of the 2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment after holding Tom Mason's squad hostage and attempting to ransom them for a .50 cal machine gun. While imprisoned, John was installed as the official chef of the 2nd Massachusetts. (The Armory) He invented small arms ammunition capable of destroying Mechs after Commander Porter reluctantly agreed to take him on as a munitions consultant. (What Hides Beneath) He participated in the 2nd Mass' attack on Boston. He led the Berserkers up until Compass, where he left the 2nd Mass, followed by Anthony to "keep an eye on him". In Homecoming, Anthony and Pope were found lying in a ditch after a mech attack. After Dr. Glass patched up his wounds, Pope warned Tom of a mech attack, and has stayed with the 2nd Mass since then. Story Before the Invasion John Pope, along with his brother Billy Pope, was a felon prior to the attacks. 5 years before the invasion Pope and his son Brandon were working on a mini-bike, when Brandon went for a test run in the street he was almost run over by another man. As this man had done this before, John took Brandon and went to talk with the man. John and the man turned violent and Pope hit the man. Pope accidentally killed him and was sent to prison for manslaughter. While in jail he became a certified chef, once cooking Thanksgiving dinner for three cell blocks. He had an ex-wife and two children, a boy and girl, they were last in Florida, where he would visit them on occasion. (Prisoner of War) Early Invasion ''Pope's Gang John was eager to take advantage of the power vacuum afforded by the Invasion of Earth. With the help of his brother, he recruited a faction of opportunistic criminals including Margaret and Cueball. Under John's leadership, the gang set about obtaining weapons from resistance fighters through murder and kidnapping, culminating in their ambush and capture of Tom Mason's squad in the Acton Armory. While holding Tom and his team hostage, he revealed that he has two children - a boy and a girl - both in Florida with their mother. As Pope's Gang made it's last stand against the 2nd Mass, Tom Mason, recognizing Pope's potential, offered him an ultimatum - "Join or die" - an allusion to Benjamin Franklin. Pope refused, but was captured alive by Weaver when an attack by airships ended the firefight. Prisoner of the 2nd Mass While a prisoner, John became the official chef of the 2nd Mass. He was kept under guard at all times. He took offense at distaste for his meals, which were generally well-regarded. John informed Captain Weaver about a motorcycle shop near Somerville. Weaver instructed Tom Mason and his squad to take Pope and secure the motorcycles. As the squad raided the shop, Pope said that he once stole a motorcycle to impress a girl, which worked. After knocking Dai unconscious, Pope escaped with a motorcycle, a canister of gasoline, and several grenades. He killed a sleeping band of Skitters and then left for parts unknown. 'Prisoner of the 7th Mass' Pope became a prisoner of Terry Clayton after he attempted to steal from the 7th Massachusetts Militia Regiment, a splinter faction collaborating with the Skitters. In exchange for his life, John provided Clayton with intelligence about the 2nd Mass. Clayton, however, ordered Mr. Greene to kill him anyway. Pope disabled Greene and, after a visible internal struggle, chose to spare his life. As a violent conflict erupted between the 2nd and 7th regiments, Pope fired on members of the 7th Mass with Greene's rifle, saving the life of Hal Mason and earning Tom Mason's respect. Pope was shot in the leg during the battle and subsequently treated by Anne Glass. With the 2nd Mass 'Munitions Expert' Tom Mason re-paid Pope by vouching for his character to Commander Porter, who recruited Pope as a munitions consultant for the resistance. Pope quickly impressed a crowd of 2nd Mass fighters when he designed ammunition capable of easily destroying Mechs. He also seems to form a peculiar bond with Matt Mason showing care for him and telling him to listen to his father so that there would be no chance to end up like him. He also takes Matt's idea to use Mech ammunition against them which plays a big part in the final assault against the Skitters. No longer under guard, Pope was granted authority over the 2nd Mass' munitions factory. While managing the factory, John came to respect Weaver's determination. He sided with Weaver against Tom's mutiny, citing the former's willingness to fight the Skitters at any cost. Pope participated in the attack on the mothership, during which he saved Anthony's life. As Tom joined the battle, Pope gave him an RPG with a modified mech-metal rocket, which Tom used to destroy an airship, causing significant damage to the Mothership. Tom Mason's return When Tom Mason returned to the 2nd Mass during Worlds Apart, Pope was openly suspicious of Tom. He wondered how Tom could just return to the 2nd Mass after his time on board the Overlord ship completely unharmed. To Pope's surprise, Tom shared the same suspicions as he thought the Overlords might have done something to him, evidently because a chunk of his memory was missing from his ordeal with them. With that Tom agreed to be restrained for his as well as the rest of the 2nd Mass' safety. It turned out the Overlords did do something to Tom. More specifically, a probe was planted into his head. Weaver guessed it might've been planted to track his movements right back to the 2nd Mass' location and a painful procedure to remove the probe soon followed. Pope, always leaning towards radical action, urged the 2nd Mass to just kill Tom because he posed a threat to everyone in the 2nd Mass. Weaver quickly refused. Battle at the Bridge The nomadic 2nd Mass was for a time prevented from moving due to a broken bridge. They intended to fix it to move forwards, but the Skitters were revealed to be on the other side, thanks to the probe implanted in Tom, which escaped. The new plan was to blow the bridge up to destroy the repairs they had made which would allow the Skitters to pass through it to reach them. Tom manages to escape his restraints and aided the 2nd Mass in fighting the attacking Skitters on the other side of the bridge. Weaver decided to hold off on the bridge bombing, as Tom was still on the other side. Pope took the detonator and blew the bridge with Tom still on it, presumably killing him. Aftermath of the Bridge's Destruction Pope stood by his decision. He was already very suspicious of Tom even with the probe removed and thus had no problem blowing the bridge with him still on it. Pope halfheartedly tried to comfort Hal, stating that he did what needed to be done. Hal, visibly devastated by his fathers apparent death attacked Pope but the fight was broken up quickly soon as the presumed dead Tom emerged from the water, virtually unscathed. (Shall We Gather at the River) Fall from Grace Pope and his Beserkers kidnap Tom Mason. Pope states that Tom is a danger to everyone around him and tells him to walk away from the 2nd Mass. As Pope tells Tom to start walking, a warning shot is fired by Jimmy Boland. In the confusion, Ben sneaks up on Pope and puts a knife to his neck. Ben states that Jimmy won't miss again, and the Beserkers back off. While Weaver contemplates a punishment for the Beserkers, Tom states that the best thing to do is to keep them around. Tom then requests to join the Beserkers, so that he could keep an eye on Pope. (Compass) Shortly after Jimmy's death, his compass that Ben was holding on to went missing. Tom discovered that Pope had the compass and wasn't planning on giving it back because Jimmy doesn't need it anymore. Tom demands he give him the compass, but Pope refuses again and insults Ben. Tom and Pope get into a fight shortly after and Tom was the victor. Tom had to be pulled off of Pope by Lyle because Tom wouldn't stop hitting him. After the altercation, Pope angrily stated to Weaver that Tom disobeyed a direct order and should be reprimanded but Weaver, mourning the loss of Jimmy, takes Tom's side. In response to this Pope decides to leave the 2nd Mass. Anthony decides to go with him to keep an eye on him. (Compass). Pope's Return At some point he and Anthony were in Durham, North Carolina looking for some vehicles, they had split up, Pope was attacked by Skitters and eventually surrounded by them. When he was approached by an Overlord, accompanied by Karen Nadler, they questioned Pope about Ben Mason and the location of the 2nd Mass. Eventually he and Anthony came under attack by Mechs, when Pope was knocked unconsious by a Mech blast and Anthony carried him as far as he could. Sometime later, he and Anthony were discovered by Lyle about 10 miles from the hospital. He later regained conciousness and informed Tom and the others of Karen's continued involvement with the "Fishheads". Falling-Skies-01-cast1.jpg fallingskies03.jpg Falling-Skies-S2x06-Pope-is-back.jpg Falling-Skies-S2-X09-Popes-Berzerkers-plan-on-leaving.jpg Falling-Skies-S2x10-Pope-shares-words-with-Tector-400x221.jpg Cast 2.jpeg Appearances ''Season 1 *The Armory *Prisoner of War *Grace *Sanctuary (Part 1) *Sanctuary (Part 2) *What Hides Beneath *Mutiny *Eight Hours Season 2 *Worlds Apart *Shall We Gather at the River *Compass *Homecoming *Molon Labe *Death March *The Price of Greatness *A More Perfect Union Season 3 *On Thin Ice *Collateral Damage *Badlands *At All Costs *Search and Recover *The Pickett Line *Strange Brew *Journey to Xilbalba *Brazil Trivia *John Pope was the name of a Union general in the American Civil War, best known for his defeat at the hands of Robert E. Lee at the Second Battle of Bull Run. *Before the invasion Pope was banned for life from Disneyland for assaulting someone in a Goofy costume. *Pope favors the use of a 12 gauge pump action shotguns as his weapon of choice, plus he uses a revolver as his sidearm. *In Strange Brew, during Tom's flashback/hallucination, Pope is a philosophy professor who is Tom's friend and who has an apparent relationship with Lourdes Delgado. Quotes *"Not the Harley!"- Pope after an Airship blows up his motorcycle. *"I'm gonna wish you into the cornfield." - The Price of Greatness, this a reference to the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life". *"It's your call, but I scored my last ride from this place, I know the layout, I know the streets..... and I can't draw for crap" - Grace Category:Characters Category:Pope's Gang Category:2nd Massachusetts Militia Regiment Category:Living Characters Category:Season 1 Category:Season 2 Category:Season 3